1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to electrical connector assemblies and, more particularly, to connector assemblies providing filtering to minimize electro-magnetic interferences.
2. Description of Related Art
In numerous applications, such as in the computer field, long, unshielded cable runs are often susceptible to picking up extraneous signals where they enter a shielded housing. Filters for such connectors, typically located at the interface through which such cables enter such housings, are known in the art and typically utilize the connector shell for a ground return and include capacitor filters connected between the connector and the connector shell. Typical among the known types of connector filter assemblies are those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,546,638 to Park, 3,961,295 to Hollyday, et al., 4,079,343 to Nijman, 4,187,481 to Boutros, and 4,222,626 to Hollyday, et al. Each of these patents teaches the construction of a filter which completely surrounds each pin of the connector. Typically, these filters are formed as a sandwich of plate elements separated by a dielectric member. As may be seen by a review of these patents, each of the constructions is relatively complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,464 to Walsh teaches a similar interference filter construction. However, Walsh discloses a multiple pin connecter wherein the conductive plates and the dielectric plate members are formed as sheets having a plurality of conductive and nonconductive areas, each provided with an interior hole through which the contact pin of the connector is passed. Appropriate contact is made between the pin and the interior surface of alternate conducting layers, with the exterior surface of the interleaved layers placed in electrical contact with the conductor shell. A further variation on this stacked, multiple pin connector approach is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,509 to Boutros.
In addition to the complexity of design of the above-listed patents, if one of the pins of a multiple pin connector is found to have a faulty interference filter, significant effort is generally required to disassemble such a multiple pin connector in order to repair the faulty capacitor. Often the labor intensive costs associated with affecting such repairs have prompted users of such multiple pin filtered connectors to discard the entire connector and replace it with a new, fault-free multiple pin connector.